Caoutchoucs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Natural or synthetic elastic substances derived from latex used primarily for making waterproof materials and flexible products; the raw milky fluid obtained from certain tropical plants; the durable, stretchable polymers used in manufacturing items like tires and gloves
2. Elastic materials sourced from natural latex or synthetic processes used in various industrial applications; milky fluid extracted from specific plants serving as the primary raw form; resilient polymeric substances valued for their stretch and water-resistant properties
3. Stretchy, waterproof substances obtained from plant latex or created synthetically for commercial items; the viscous milky extract from rubber-producing trees; flexible, durable materials used to produce a broad array of everyday and industrial goods

Etymology: "Caoutchoucs" is the plural of "caoutchouc", a term for rubber-like elastic material, and it reached English through French. The French word traces to Spanish "caucho", which in turn comes from Quechua "kawchu", the name used by Indigenous peoples of the Andes for the latex-yielding tree and the substance it produced. Spanish colonists encountered the material in South America and adopted the Quechua name for it. The plural form is simply the ordinary count-noun plural, used when speaking of several kinds or instances of the material. The English word "caucho" shares this same source, so the two are doublets: separate borrowings of one Quechua word, arriving by different routes.

Synonyms: natural rubbers